MTV was originally first tested on December 1, 1977 as Sight on Sound, but was officially launched in 1981, and originally aired music videos as guided by television personalities known as "video jockeys" (VJs),[3] but in the years since its inception, the network significantly toned down its focus on music in favor of original reality programming targeting teenagers and young adults.

MTV has spawned numerous sister channels in the U.S. and affiliated channels internationally, some of which have gone independent, with approximately 90.6 million American households in the United States receiving the channel as of January 2016.[4]

History

Previous concepts (1964-1977)

Several earlier concepts for music video-based television programming had been around since the early 1960s. The Beatles had used music videos to promote their records starting in the mid-1960s. The creative use of music videos within their 1964 film A Hard Day's Night, particularly the performance of the song "Can't Buy Me Love", led MTV later to honor the film's director Richard Lester with an award for "basically inventing the music video".[5]

In his book The Mason Williams FCC Rapport, author Mason Williams states that he pitched an idea to CBS for a television program that featured "video-radio", where disc jockeys would play avant-garde art pieces set to music. CBS rejected the idea, but Williams premiered his own musical composition "Classical Gas" on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, where he was head writer. In 1970, Philadelphia-based disc jockey Bob Whitney created The Now Explosion, a television series filmed in Atlanta and broadcast in syndication to other local television stations throughout the United States. The series featured promotional clips from various popular artists, but was canceled by its distributor in 1971. Several music programs originating outside of the US, including Australia's Countdown and the United Kingdom's Top of the Pops, which had initially aired music videos in lieu of performances from artists who were not available to perform live, began to feature them regularly by the mid-1970s.

In 1974, Gary Van Haas, vice president of Televak Corporation, introduced a concept to distribute a music video channel to record stores across the United States, and promoted the channel, named Music Video TV, to distributors and retailers in a May 1974 issue of Billboard.[6][7] The channel, which featured video disc jockeys, signed a deal with US Cable in 1978 to expand its audience from retail to cable television. The service was no longer active by the time MTV launched in 1981.

Pre-history; Pre-launch as "Sight on Sound" (1977-1981)

In 1977, Warner Cable, a division of Warner Communications and the precursor of Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment launched the first two-way interactive cable television system named QUBE in Columbus, Ohio. The QUBE system offered many specialized channels. One of these specialized channels was "Sight on Sound", a music channel that featured concert footage and music-oriented television programs. With the interactive QUBE service, viewers could vote for their favorite songs and artists. MTV was not the only channel run by Warner-Amex to be first tested before its launch; sister channel Nickelodeon was also first tested as Channel C-3, which only broadcasts the series Pinwheel (TV series), before the channel was officially launched in 1979.

The original programming format of MTV was created by media executive Robert W. Pittman, who later became president and chief executive officer (CEO) of MTV Networks.[8] Pittman had test-driven the music format by producing and hosting a 15-minute show, Album Tracks, on New York City television station WNBC-TV in the late 1970s.

Pittman's boss Warner-Amex executive vice president John Lack had shepherded PopClips, a television series created by former Monkee-turned solo artist Michael Nesmith, whose attention had turned to the music video format in the late 1970s.[9] The inspiration for PopClips came from a similar program on New Zealand's TVNZ network named Radio with Pictures, which premiered in 1976. The concept itself had been in the works since 1966, when major record companies began supplying the creator of New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation with promotional music clips to play on the air at no charge. Few artists made the long trip to New Zealand to appear live.

Official launch as MTV

On Saturday, August 1, 1981, at 12:01 AMEastern Time,[10][11] MTV was officially launched with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll," spoken by John Lack and played over footage of the first Space Shuttle launch countdown of Columbia (which took place earlier that year) and of the launch of Apollo 11. Those words were immediately followed by the original MTV theme song, a crushing rock tune composed by Jonathan Elias and John Petersen, playing over the American flag changed to show MTV's logo changing into different textures and designs. MTV producers Alan Goodman and Fred Seibert used this public domain footage as a concept;[12] Seibert said that they had originally planned to use Neil Armstrong's "One small step" quote, but lawyers said that Armstrong owned his name and likeness and that he had refused, so the quote was replaced with a beeping sound.[13] A shortened version of the shuttle launch ID ran at the top of every hour in different forms, from MTV's first day until it was pulled in early 1986 in the wake of the Challenger disaster.[14]

The first music video shown on MTV was The Buggles' "Video Killed the Radio Star", originally available only to homes in New Jersey.[15] This was followed by the video for Pat Benatar's "You Better Run". The screen went black infrequently when an employee at MTV inserted a tape into a VCR.[16] MTV's lower third graphics that appeared near the beginning and end of music videos eventually used the recognizable Kabel typeface for about 25 years, but these graphics varied on MTV's first day of broadcast; they were set in a different typeface and included information such as the year and record label name.

"MTV has paved the way for a host of invaders from abroad: Def Leppard, Adam Ant, Madness, Eurythmics, the Fixx and Billy Idol, to name a few. In return, grateful Brits, even superstars like Pete Townshend and the Police, have mugged for MTV promo spots and made the phrase 'I want my MTV' a household commonplace."

As programming chief, Robert W. Pittman recruited and managed a team for the launch that included Tom Freston (who succeeded Pittman as CEO of MTV Networks), Fred Seibert, John Sykes, Carolyn Baker (original head of talent and acquisition),[18] Marshall Cohen (original head of research),[19] Gail Sparrow (of talent and acquisition), Sue Steinberg (executive producer),[20] Julian Goldberg, Steve Lawrence, Geoff Bolton; studio producers and MTV News writers/associate producers Liz Nealon, Nancy LaPook and Robin Zorn; Steve Casey (creator of the name "MTV" and its first program director),[21] Marcy Brafman, Ronald E. "Buzz" Brindle, and Robert Morton. Kenneth M. Miller is credited as being the first technical director to officially launch MTV from its New York City-based network operations facility.[21]

MTV targeted an audience between the ages of 12 to 34. However, according to MTV's self conducted research over 50% of its audience was between 12 and 24. Furthermore, this particular group watched MTV for an average of thirty minutes to two hours a day.[25]

Original VJs and format (1981-1994)

MTV's original logo, used from August 1, 1981 to February 8, 2010. It was still used in other countries until July 1, 2011.

The original purpose of MTV was to be "music television", playing music videos 24 hours a day and seven days a week, guided by on-air personalities known as VJs, or video jockeys. The original slogans of the channel were "You'll never look at music the same way again", and "On cable. In stereo."

MTV's earliest format was modeled after AOR (album-oriented rock) radio; MTV underwent a transition to copy a full Top 40 station in 1984. Fresh-faced young men and women were hired to host the channel's programming and to introduce music videos that were being played. The term VJ was coined, which was a play on the initialism DJ (disc jockey). Many VJs eventually became celebrities in their own right. The original five MTV VJs in 1981 were Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn. Initially popular New York DJ Meg Griffin was going to be a VJ, but decided against it at the last minute. The VJs were hired to fit certain demographics the channel was trying to obtain (Goodman was the affable every man, Hunter the popular jock, Jackson the hip radio veteran, Blackwood the bombshell vixen and Quinn the girl next door). Due to the uncertainty of how successful the channel would be, the VJs were told not to buy permanent residencies and to keep their second jobs.[26]

The VJs recorded intro and outro voiceovers before broadcast, along with music news, interviews, concert dates and promotions. These segments appeared to air live and debut across the MTV program schedule 24 hours a day and seven days a week, although the segments themselves were pre-taped within a regular work week at MTV's studios.[27]

The earlier music videos that made up the volume of MTV's programming in the 1980s were promotional videos (or "promos", a term that originated in the United Kingdom) that record companies had commissioned for international use or concert clips from any available sources.

The 1983 film Flashdance was the first film in which its promoters excerpted musical segments from it and supplied them to MTV as music videos, which the channel then aired in regular rotation.[36]

In addition to bringing lesser-known artists into view, MTV was instrumental in adding to the booming '80s dance wave. Videos' budgets increased, and artists began to add fully choreographed dance sections. Michael Jackson's music became synonymous with dance. In addition to learning the lyrics, fans also learned his choreography so they could dance along. Madonna capitalized on dance in her videos, using classically trained jazz and breakdancers. Along with extensive costuming and makeup, Duran Duran used tribal elements, pulled from Dunham technique, in "The Wild Boys", and Kate Bush used a modern dance duet in "Running Up That Hill". MTV brought more than music into public view, it added to the ever-growing resurgence of dance in the early 1980s that has carried through to today.

In 1984, more record companies and artists began making video clips for their music than in the past, realizing the popularity of MTV and the growing medium. In keeping with the influx of videos, MTV announced changes to its playlists in the November 3, 1984, issue of Billboard magazine, that would take effect the following week. The playlist categories would be expanded to seven, from three (light, medium, heavy); including New, Light, Breakout, Medium, Active, Heavy and Power. This would ensure artists with hit records on the charts would be get the exposure they deserved, with Medium being a home for the established hits still on the climb up to the top 10; and Heavy being a home for the big hits – without the bells and whistles – just the exposure they commanded.[37]

In 1985, MTV spearheaded a safe-sex initiative as a response to the AIDS epidemic that continues to influence sexual health currently. In this light, MTV pushed teens to pay more attention to safe-sex because they were most likely more willing to hear this message from MTV than their parents. This showed that MTV was not always influencing youth negatively. Even though in other aspects, MTV was provocative, they had this campaign to showcase their positive influence on youths and safe sex – a campaign that still is alive today: "Its Your Sex Life".[38]

Breaking the "color barrier" (1981-1983)

During MTV's first few years on the air, very few black artists were included in rotation on the channel. The select few who were in MTV's rotation were Michael Jackson, Prince, Eddy Grant, Donna Summer, Joan Armatrading, Musical Youth, and Herbie Hancock. The very first people of color to perform on MTV was the British band The Specials, which featured an integrated line-up of white and black musicians and vocalists. The Specials' video "Rat Race" was played as the 58th video on the station's first day of broadcasting.[39]

MTV refused other black artists' videos, such as Rick James' "Super Freak", because they did not fit the channel's carefully selected album-oriented rock format at the time. The exclusion enraged James; he publicly advocated the addition of more black artists' videos on the channel. Rock legend David Bowie also questioned MTV's lack of black artists during an on-air interview with VJ Mark Goodman in 1983.[40] MTV's original head of talent and acquisition, Carolyn B. Baker, who was black, had questioned why the definition of music had to be so narrow, as had a few others outside the network. "The party line at MTV was that we weren't playing black music because of the 'research'", said Baker years later. "But the research was based on ignorance ... we were young, we were cutting edge. We didn't have to be on the cutting edge of racism." Nevertheless, it was Baker who had personally rejected Rick James' video for Super Freak "because there were half-naked women in it, and it was a piece of crap. As a black woman, I did not want that representing my people as the first black video on MTV."[41]

The network's director of music programming, Buzz Brindle, told an interviewer in 2006, "MTV was originally designed to be a rock music channel. It was difficult for MTV to find African American artists whose music fit the channel's format that leaned toward rock at the outset." Writers Craig Marks and Rob Tannenbaum noted that the channel "aired videos by plenty of white artists who didn't play rock." Andrew Goodwin later wrote, "[MTV] denied racism, on the grounds that it merely followed the rules of the rock business."[42] MTV senior executive vice president Les Garland complained decades later, "The worst thing was that 'racism' bullshit... there were hardly any videos being made by black artists. Record companies weren't funding them. They never got charged with racism." However, critics of that defense pointed out that record companies were not funding videos for black artists because they knew that they would have difficulty persuading MTV to play them.[43]

Before 1983, Michael Jackson also struggled to receive airtime on MTV.[44] To resolve the struggle and finally "break the color barrier", the president of CBS Records at the time, Walter Yetnikoff, denounced MTV in a strong, profane statement, threatening to take away MTV's ability to play any of the record label's music videos.[44][45] However, Les Garland, then acquisitions head, said he decided to air Jackson's "Billie Jean" video without pressure from CBS.[40] This was contradicted by CBS head of Business Affairs David Benjamin in Vanity Fair.[13]

According to The Austin Chronicle, Jackson's video for the song "Billie Jean" was "the video that broke the color barrier, even though the channel itself was responsible for erecting that barrier in the first place."[46] But change was not immediate. "Billie Jean" was not added to MTV's "medium rotation" playlist (two to three airings per day) until after it had already reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In the final week of March, it was in "heavy rotation", one week before the MTV debut of Jackson's "Beat It" video. Prince's "Little Red Corvette" joined both videos in heavy rotation at the end of April. At the beginning of June, "Electric Avenue" by Eddy Grant joined "Billie Jean", which was still in heavy rotation until mid-June. At the end of August, "She Works Hard for the Money" by Donna Summer was in heavy rotation on the channel. Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" and Lionel Richie's "All Night Long" was placed in heavy rotation at the end of October and the beginning of November respectively. In final week of November, Donna Summer's "Unconditional Love" was in heavy rotation. When Jackson's elaborate video for "Thriller" was released late in the year, which raised the ambition bar for what a video could be, the network's support for it was total; subsequently, more pop and R&B videos were played on MTV.[47]

Following Jackson's and Prince's breakthroughs on MTV, Rick James did several interviews where he brushed off the accomplishment as tokenism, saying in a 1983 interview that was featured in an episode of Mike Judge Presents: Tales from the Tour Bus on James, that "any black artist that [had] their video played on MTV should pull their [videos] off MTV."[48]

Regardless of the timeline, many black artists had their videos played in "heavy" rotation the following year (1984). Along with Herbie Hancock, Prince, Donna Summer, other black artists such as Billy Ocean, Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Lionel Richie, Ray Parker Jr, Rockwell, The Pointer Sisters, The Jacksons, Sheila E and Deniece Williams all had videos played in heavy rotation on MTV.

Video Music Awards (1984-present)

In 1984, the channel produced its first MTV Video Music Awards show, or VMAs. The first award show, in 1984, was punctuated by a live performance by Madonna of "Like A Virgin". The statuettes that are handed out at the Video Music Awards are of the MTV moonman, the channel's original image from its first broadcast in 1981. Presently, the Video Music Awards are MTV's most watched annual event.[49]

Special, annual events (1986-present)

MTV began its annual Spring Break coverage in 1986, setting up temporary operations in Daytona Beach, Florida, for a week in March, broadcasting live eight hours per day. "Spring break is a youth culture event", MTV's vice president Doug Herzog said at the time. "We wanted to be part of it for that reason. It makes good sense for us to come down and go live from the center of it, because obviously the people there are the kinds of people who watch MTV."[50] The channel's coverage featured numerous live performances from artists and bands on location. The annual tradition continued into the 2000s, when it became de-emphasized and handed off to mtvU, the spin-off channel of MTV targeted at college campuses.

The channel later expanded its beach-themed events to the summer, dedicating most of each summer season to broadcasting live from a beach house at different locations away from New York City, eventually leading to channel-wide branding throughout the summer in the 1990s and early 2000s such as Motel California, Summer Share, Isle of MTV, SoCal Summer, Summer in the Keys, and Shore Thing. MTV VJs hosted blocks of music videos, interview artists and bands, and introduced live performances and other programs from the beach house location each summer.[51] In the 2000s, as the channel reduced its airtime for music videos and eliminated much of its in-house programming, its annual summer-long events came to an end.

MTV also held week-long music events that took over the presentation of the channel. Examples from the 1990s and 2000s include All Access Week, a week in the summer dedicated to live concerts and festivals; Spankin' New Music Week, a week in the fall dedicated to brand new music videos; and week-long specials that culminated in a particular live event, such as Wanna be a VJ and the Video Music Awards.[52]

At the end of each year, MTV takes advantage of its home location in New York City to broadcast live coverage on New Year's Eve in Times Square. Several live music performances are featured alongside interviews with artists and bands that were influential throughout the year. For many years from the 1980s to the 2000s, the channel upheld a tradition of having a band perform a cover song at midnight immediately following the beginning of the new year.[53]

Live concert broadcasts (1985-2005)

Throughout its history, MTV has covered global benefit concert series live. For most of July 13, 1985, MTV showed the Live Aid concerts, held in London and Philadelphia and organized by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise funds for famine relief in Ethiopia. While the ABC network showed only selected highlights during primetime, MTV broadcast 16 hours of coverage.[54]

Along with VH1, MTV broadcast the Live 8 concerts, a series of concerts set in the G8 states and South Africa, on July 2, 2005.[55] Live 8 preceded the 31st G8 summit and the 20th anniversary of Live Aid. MTV drew heavy criticism for its coverage of Live 8. The network cut to commercials, VJ commentary, or other performances during performances. Complaints surfaced on the Internet over MTV interrupting the reunion of Pink Floyd.[56] In response, MTV president Van Toeffler stated that he wanted to broadcast highlights from every venue of Live 8 on MTV and VH1, and clarified that network hosts talked over performances only in transition to commercials, informative segments or other musical performances.[57] Toeffler acknowledged that "MTV should not have placed such a high priority on showing so many acts, at the expense of airing complete sets by key artists."[56] He also blamed the Pink Floyd interruption on a mandatory cable affiliate break.[57] MTV averaged 1.4million viewers for its original July 2 broadcast of Live 8.[56] Consequently, MTV and VH1 aired five hours of uninterrupted Live 8 coverage on July 9, with each channel airing other blocks of artists.[58]

Formatted music series (1986-present)

MTV had debuted Dial MTV in 1986, a daily top 10 music video countdown show for which viewers could call the toll-free telephone number 1-800-DIAL-MTV to request a music video. The show was replaced by MTV Most Wanted in 1991, which ran until 1996, and later saw a spiritual successor in Total Request Live. The phone number remained in use for video requests until 2006.

1986 also brought the departures of three of the five original VJs, as J.J. Jackson moved back to Los Angeles and returned to radio, while Nina Blackwood moved on to pursue new roles in television.[59][60] Martha Quinn's contract wasn't renewed in late 1986 and she departed the network.[59] She was brought back in early 1989 and stayed until 1992.[61][62][63]Downtown Julie Brown was hired as the first new VJ as a replacement. In mid-1987, Alan Hunter and Mark Goodman ceased being full-time MTV veejays.[64][65]

Also in 1986, the channel introduced 120 Minutes, a show that featured low-rotation, alternative rock and other "underground" videos for the next 14 years on MTV and three additional years on sister channel MTV2. The program then became known as Subterranean on MTV2. Eight years later, on July 31, 2011, 120 Minutes was resurrected with Matt Pinfield taking over hosting duties once again and airing monthly on MTV2.

Another late night music video show was added in 1987, Headbangers Ball, which featured heavy metal music and news. Before its abrupt cancellation in 1995, it featured several hosts including Riki Rachtman and Adam Curry. A weekly block of music videos with the name Headbangers Ball aired from 2003 to 2011 on sister channel MTV2, before spending an additional two years as a web-only series on MTV2's website, until Headbangers Ball was discontinued once again in 2013. Mark Goodman and Alan Hunter departed the network in 1987.

In 1988, MTV debuted Yo! MTV Raps, a hip hop/rap formatted program. The program continued until August 1995. It was renamed to simply Yo! and aired as a one-hour program from 1995 to 1999. The concept was reintroduced as Direct Effect in 2000, which became Sucker Free in 2006 and was cancelled in 2008, after briefly celebrating the 20th anniversary of Yo! MTV Raps throughout the months of April and May 2008. Despite its cancellation on MTV, a weekly countdown of hip hop videos known as Sucker Free still airs on MTV2 through the present day.

In 1989, MTV began to premiere music-based specials such as MTV Unplugged, an acoustic performance show, which has featured dozens of acts as its guests and has remained active in numerous iterations on various platforms for over 20 years.

To further cater to the growing success of R&B, MTV introduced the weekly Fade to Black in the summer of 1991, which was hosted by Al B. Sure!. The show was reformatted into the better known MTV Jams the following year, which incorporated mainstream hip-hop into the playlist. Bill Bellamy became the new and ongoing host. The show became so successful it spawned its own Most Wanted spinoff titled Most Wanted Jams.

As the PBS series Frontline[66] explored, MTV was a driving force that catapulted music videos to a mainstream audience, turning music videos into an art form as well as a marketing machine that became beneficial to artists. Danny Goldberg, chairman and CEO of Artemis Records, said the following about the art of music videos: "I know when I worked with Nirvana, Kurt Cobain cared as much about the videos as he did about the records. He wrote the scripts for them, he was in the editing room, and they were part of his art. And I think they stand up as part of his art, and I think that's true of the great artists today. Not every artist is a great artist and not every video is a good video, but in general having it available as a tool, to me, adds to the business. And I wish there had been music videos in the heyday of The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones. I think they would've added to their creative contribution, not subtracted from it."[67]

Return of the Rock (1997-2004)

Beginning in late 1997, MTV progressively reduced its airing of rock music videos, leading to the slogan among skeptics, "Rock is dead."[68] The facts that at the time rock music fans were less materialistic, and bought less music based on television suggestion, were cited as reasons that MTV abandoned its once core music. MTV instead devoted its musical airtime mostly to pop and hip hop/R&B music. All rock-centric shows were eliminated and the rock-related categories of the Video Music Awards were pared down to one.

From this time until 2004, MTV made some periodic efforts to reintroduce pop rock music videos to the channel. By 1998 through 1999, the punk-rock band Blink-182 received regular airtime on MTV due in large part to their "All the Small Things" video that made fun of the boy bands that MTV was airing at the time. Meanwhile, some rock bands that were not receiving MTV support, such as Korn and Creed, continued to sell albums. Then, upon the release of Korn's rock/rap hybrid album Follow the Leader, MTV began playing Korn's videos "Got the Life" and "Freak on a Leash".

By 2000, Linkin Park, Sum 41, Jimmy Eat World, Mudvayne, Cold, At the Drive-In, Alien Ant Farm, and other acts were added to the musical rotation. MTV also launched subscription channel MTVX to play rock music videos exclusively, an experiment that lasted until 2002.[70] A daily music video program on MTV that carried the name Return of the Rock ran through early 2001, replaced by a successor, All Things Rock, from 2002 until 2004.

A year later, in 1998, MTV merged Total Request and MTV Live into a live daily top 10 countdown show, Total Request Live, which became known as TRL. The original host was Carson Daly.[72] The show included a live studio audience and was filmed in a windowed studio that allowed crowds to look in.[73] According to Nielsen, the average audience for the show was at its highest in 1999 and continued with strong numbers through 2001.[73] The program played the top ten pop, rock, R&B, and hip hop music videos, and featured live interviews with artists and celebrities.[73]

From 1998 to 2003, MTV also aired several other music video programs from its studios. These programs included Say What? Karaoke, a game show hosted by Dave Holmes.[74] In the early 2000s MTV aired VJ for a Day, hosted by Ray Munns.[75]

MTV also aired Hot Zone, hosted by Ananda Lewis, which featured pop music videos during the midday time period.[76] Other programs at the time included Sucker Free,[77]BeatSuite,[78] and blocks of music videos hosted by VJs simply called Music Television.[]

In 2003, Carson Daly left MTV and TRL to focus on his late night talk show on NBC.[79] The series came to an end with a special finale episode, Total Finale Live, which aired November 16, 2008, and featured hosts and guests that previously appeared on the show.[80]

Milestones and specials (1999-present)

Around 1999 through 2001, as MTV aired fewer music videos throughout the day, it regularly aired compilation specials from its then 20-year history to look back on its roots. An all-encompassing special, MTV Uncensored, premiered in 1999 and was later released as a book.[81][82]

MTV celebrated its 20th anniversary on August 1, 2001, beginning with a 12-hour long retrospective called MTV20: Buggles to Bizkit, which featured over 100 classic videos played chronologically, hosted by various VJs in reproductions of MTV's old studios. The day of programming culminated in a three-hour celebratory live event called MTV20: Live and Almost Legal, which was hosted by Carson Daly and featured numerous guests from MTV's history, including the original VJs from 1981. Various other related MTV20 specials aired in the months surrounding the event.

Five years later, on August 1, 2006, MTV celebrated its 25th anniversary. On their website, MTV.com, visitors could watch the very first hour of MTV, including airing the original promos and commercials from Mountain Dew, Atari, Chewels gum, and Jovan. Videos were also shown from The Buggles, Pat Benatar, Rod Stewart, and others. The introduction of the first five VJs was also shown. Additionally, MTV.com put together a "yearbook" consisting of the greatest videos of each year from 1981 to 2006. MTV itself only mentioned the anniversary once on TRL.

Although MTV reached its 30th year of broadcasting in 2011, the channel itself passed over this milestone in favor of its current programming schedule. The channel instead aired its 30th anniversary celebrations on its sister networks MTV2 and VH1 Classic. Nathaniel Brown, senior vice president of communications for MTV, confirmed that there were no plans for an on-air MTV celebration similar to the channel's 20th anniversary. Brown explained, "MTV as a brand doesn't age with our viewers. We are really focused on our current viewers, and our feeling was that our anniversary wasn't something that would be meaningful to them, many of whom weren't even alive in 1981."[84]

Decline in music videos (1995-present)

From 1995 to 2000, MTV played 36.5% fewer music videos. MTV president Van Toeffler stated: "Clearly, the novelty of just showing music videos has worn off. It's required us to reinvent ourselves to a contemporary audience."[85] Despite targeted efforts to play certain types of music videos in limited rotation, MTV greatly reduced its overall rotation of music videos by the mid-2000s.[86] While music videos were featured on MTV up to eight hours per day in 2000, the year 2008 saw an average of just three hours of music videos per day on MTV. The rise of social media and websites like YouTube as a convenient outlet for the promotion and viewing of music videos signaled this reduction.[87]

As the decade progressed, MTV continued to play some music videos instead of relegating them exclusively to its sister channels, but around this time, the channel began to air music videos only in the early morning hours or in a condensed form on Total Request Live. As a result of these programming changes, Justin Timberlake implored MTV to "play more damn videos!" while giving an acceptance speech at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.[88]

Despite the challenge from Timberlake, MTV continued to decrease its total rotation time for music videos in 2007, and the channel eliminated its long-running special tags for music videos such as "Buzzworthy" (for under-represented artists), "Breakthrough" (for visually stunning videos), and "Spankin' New" (for brand new videos). Additionally, the historic Kabel typeface, which MTV displayed at the beginning and end of all music videos since 1981, was phased out in favor of larger text and less information about the video's record label and director. The classic font can still be seen in "prechyroned" versions of old videos on sister network MTV Classic, which had their title information recorded onto the same tape as the video itself.

FNMTV and AMTV (2008-present)

Prior to its finale in 2008, MTV's main source of music videos was Total Request Live, airing four times per week, featuring short clips of music videos along with VJs and guests. MTV was experimenting at the time with new ideas for music programs to replace the purpose of TRL but with a new format.[89]

In mid-2008, MTV premiered new music video programming blocks called FNMTV and a weekly special event called FNMTV Premieres, hosted from Los Angeles by Pete Wentz of the band Fall Out Boy, which was designed to premiere new music videos and have viewers provide instantaneous feedback.[90]

The FNMTV Premieres event ended before the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards in September. With the exception of a holiday themed episode in December 2008 and an unrelated Spring Break special in March 2009 with the same title, FNMTV Premieres never returned to the channel's regular program schedule, leaving MTV without any music video programs hosted by VJs for the first time in its history.

Music video programming returned to MTV in March 2009 as AMTV, an early morning block of music videos that originally aired from 3am to 9am on most weekdays.[91] It was renamed Music Feed in 2013 with a reduced schedule. Unlike the FNMTV block that preceded it, Music Feed featured many full-length music videos, including some older videos that had been out of regular rotation for many years on MTV. It also featured music news updates, interviews, and performances.[91] For many years, Music Feed was the only program on MTV's main channel that was dedicated to music videos.

During the rest of the day, MTV used to play excerpts from music videos in split screen format during the closing credits of most programs, along with the address of a website to encourage the viewer to watch the full video online. MTV positioned its website, MTV.com, as its primary destination for music videos, but this strategy was abandoned.

Recent music programs (2009-present)

MTV again resurrected the long-running series MTV Unplugged in 2009 with performances from acts such as Adele and Paramore.[92] However, unlike past Unplugged specials, these new recordings usually only aired in their entirety on MTV's website, MTV.com. Nevertheless, short clips of the specials were shown on MTV during the AMTV block of music videos in the early morning hours. On June 12, 2011, MTV aired a traditional television premiere of a new installment of MTV Unplugged instead of a web debut. The featured artist was rapper Lil Wayne and the show debuted both on MTV and MTV2. The channel followed up with a similar television premiere of MTV Unplugged with Florence and the Machine on April 8, 2012.[93]

MTV launched 10 on Top in May 2010 with little promotion throughout its run, a weekly program airing on Saturdays and hosted by Lenay Dunn, that counted down the top 10 most trending and talked about topics of the week (generally focused on entertainment). Dunn also appeared in segments between MTV's shows throughout the day as a recognizable personality and face of the channel in the absence of traditional VJs aside from its MTV News correspondents.[94]

The animated series Beavis and Butt-head returned to MTV in October 2011, with new episodes. As with the original version of the series that ran from 1993 to 1997, the modern-day Beavis and Butt-head features segments in which its main characters watch and reality tv shows such as Jersey_Shore_(TV_series).[95]

Sometime in 2012, MTV debuted Clubland, which previously existed as an hour of EDM videos during the AMTV video block. The show had no host, but most editorial content was pushed online by the show's Tumblr and other social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter.

MTV launched a new talk show based on hip hop music on April 12, 2012, called Hip Hop POV, hosted by Amanda Seales, Bu Thiam, Charlamagne, Devi Dev, and Sowmya Krishnamurthy. The show featured hosted commentary on the headlines in hip hop culture, providing opinions on new music, granting insider access to major events, and including artist interviews.[96]Hip Hip POV lasted several episodes before going on hiatus. The show was supposed to return in Fall 2012, but was moved to MTV2 instead, where it was rebranded and merged with Sucker Free Countdown. The new show debuted as The Week in Jams on October 28, 2012.

Post-TRL live shows (2009-present)

MTV launched a live talk show, It's On with Alexa Chung, on June 15, 2009. The host of the program, Alexa Chung, was described as a "younger, more Web 2.0" version of Jimmy Fallon.[97] Although it was filmed in the same Times Square studio where TRL used to be broadcast, the network stated that "the only thing the two shows have in common is the studio location."[98]It's On was cancelled in December of the same year, which again eliminated the only live in-studio programming from MTV's schedule, just one year after TRL was also cancelled.

Shortly after Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, the channel aired several hours of Jackson's music videos, accompanied by live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities.[99] The temporary shift in MTV's programming culminated the following week with the channel's live coverage of Jackson's memorial service.[100] MTV aired similar one-hour live specials with music videos and news updates following the death of Whitney Houston on February 11, 2012, and the death of Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys on May 4, 2012.[101][102]

The channel tried its hand again at live programming with the premiere of a half-hour program called The Seven in September 2010. The program counted down seven entertainment-related stories of interest to viewers (and included some interview segments among them), having aired weekdays at 5pm with a weekend wrap-up at 10 am ET. Shortly after its debut, the show was slightly retooled as it dropped co-host Julie Alexandria but kept fellow co-host Kevin Manno; the Saturday recap show was eliminated as well. The Seven was cancelled on June 13, 2011. Manno's only assignment at MTV post-Seven was conducting an interview with a band which only aired on MTV.com. Manno is no longer employed with MTV and has since appeared as an occasional correspondent on the LXTV-produced NBC series 1st Look.

Presently, MTV airs sporadic live specials called MTV First. The short program, produced by MTV News, debuted in early 2011 and continues to air typically once every couple of weeks on any given weekday. The specials usually begin at 7:53 pm. ET, led by one of MTV News' correspondents who will conduct a live interview with a featured artist or actor who has come to MTV to premiere a music video or movie trailer. MTV starts its next scheduled program at 8:00 pm, while the interview and chat with fans continues on MTV.com for another 30 to 60 minutes. Since its debut in 2011, MTV First has featured high-profile acts such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Usher, and Justin Bieber. In the absence of daily live programs such as TRL, It's On with Alexa Chung, and The Seven to facilitate such segments, the channel now uses MTV First as its newest approach to present music video premieres and bring viewers from its main television channel to its website for real-time interaction with artists and celebrities.[103][104][105][106]

In April 2016, then-appointed MTV president Sean Atkins announced plans to restore music programming to the channel.[107][108] On April 21, 2016, MTV announced that new Unplugged episodes will begin airing, as well as a new weekly performance series called Wonderland.[109] On that same day, immediately after the death of Prince, MTV interrupted its usual programming to air Prince's music videos.[110][111] In July 2017, it was announced that TRL would be returning to the network on October 2, 2017.[108] As of 2019, the show currently airs on Saturday mornings as TRL Top 10. Beginning in the mid-2010s and continuing after, MTV shifted to heavy marathons of two to three shows, including Ridiculousness for most hours of programming.[112]

Programming

MTV HD logo

As MTV expanded, music videos and VJ-guided programming were no longer the centerpiece of its programming. Today, MTV's programming covers a wide variety of genres and formats aimed primarily at young adults and millennials. In addition to its original programming, MTV has also aired original and syndicated programs from Viacom-owned siblings and third-party networks.[113][114][115][116]

MTV is also a producer of films aimed at young adults through its production label, MTV Films, and has aired both its own theatrically-released films and original made-for-television movies from MTV Studios in addition to acquired films.[117][118]

In 2010, a study by the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation found that of 207.5 hours of prime time programming on MTV, 42% included content reflecting the lives of gay, bisexual and transgender people. This was the highest in the industry and the highest percentage ever.[119]

In 2018, MTV launched a new production unit under the "MTV Studios" name focused on producing new versions of MTV's library shows.[120]

Programming History

First format evolution (1985-1991)

In 1985, Viacom bought Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, which owned MTV and Nickelodeon, renaming the company MTV Networks and beginning this expansion. Before 1987, MTV featured almost exclusively music videos, but as time passed, they introduced a variety of other shows, including some that were originally intended for other channels.

Non-music video programming began in the late 1980s, with the introduction of a music news show The Week in Rock, which was also the beginning of MTV's news division, MTV News. Around this time, MTV also introduced a fashion news show, House of Style; a dance show, Club MTV; and a game show, Remote Control. Programs like these did not feature music videos, but they were still largely based around the world of music.

Following the success of the MTV Video Music Awards, in an effort to branch out from music into movies and broader pop culture, MTV started the MTV Movie & TV Awards in 1992, which continues presently. MTV also created an award show for Europe after the success of the Video Music Awards. The MTV Europe Music Awards, or the EMAs, were created in 1994, ten years after the debut of the VMAs.

These new shows were just the beginning of new genres of shows to make an impact on MTV. As the format of the network continued to evolve, more genres of shows began to appear. In the early 1990s, MTV debuted its first reality shows, Real World and Road Rules.

Reality programs (1992-present)

During the latter half of the 1990s and early 2000s, MTV placed a stronger focus on reality shows and related series, building on the success of The Real World and Road Rules. The first round of these shows came in the mid-1990s, with game shows such as Singled Out, reality-based comedy shows such as Buzzkill, and late-night talk shows such as The Jon Stewart Show and Loveline.

The next round of these shows came in approximately the late 1990s, as MTV shifted its focus to prank/comedic shows such as The Tom Green Show and Jackass, and game shows such as The Challenge (aka Real World/Road Rules Challenge), The Blame Game, webRIOT, and Say What? Karaoke. A year later, in 2000, MTV's Fear became the first scare-based/supernatural reality show and the first reality show in which contestants filmed themselves.

Some of the reality shows on the network also followed the lives of musicians. The Osbournes, a reality show based on the everyday life of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, his wife Sharon, and two of their children, Jack and Kelly, premiered on MTV in 2002. The show went on to become one of the network's biggest-ever successes and was also recognized for the Osbourne family members' heavy use of profanity, which MTV censored for broadcast.[121] It also kick-started a musical career for Kelly Osbourne,[122] while Sharon Osbourne went on to host her own self-titled talk show on US television.[123] Production ended on The Osbournes in November 2004.[124] In the fall of 2004, Ozzy Osbourne's reality show Battle for Ozzfest aired; the show hosted competitions between bands vying to play as part of Ozzfest, a yearly heavy metal music tour across the United States hosted by Osbourne.

In 2003, MTV added Punk'd, a project by Ashton Kutcher to play pranks on various celebrities, and Pimp My Ride, a show about adding aesthetic and functional modifications to cars and other vehicles. Another show was Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, a reality series that followed the lives of pop singers Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, a music celebrity couple. It began in 2003 and ran for four seasons, ending in early 2005; the couple later divorced. The success of Newlyweds was followed in June 2004 by The Ashlee Simpson Show, which documented the beginnings of the music career of Ashlee Simpson, Jessica Simpson's younger sister.

In 2007, MTV aired the reality show A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila, chronicling MySpace sensation Tila Tequila's journey to find a companion. Her bisexuality played into the series – both male and female contestants were vying for love – and was the subject of criticism.[125] It was the #2 show airing on MTV at that time, behind The Hills.[126] A spin-off series from A Shot at Love, titled That's Amoré!, followed a similar pursuit from previous A Shot at Love contestant Domenico Nesci.

In late 2009, MTV shifted its focus back to Real World-style reality programming with the premiere of Jersey Shore, a program that brought high ratings to the channel and also caused controversy due to some of its content.[128]

The channel also aired a new show around this time titled 16 and Pregnant, which documented the lives of teenagers expecting babies. This had a follow-up show after the first season titled Teen Mom, which follows some of the teens through the first stages with their newborns.

MTV found further success with The Buried Life, a program about four friends traveling across the country to check off a list of "100 things to do before I die" and helping others along the way. Another recent reality program is MTV's Hired, which follows the employment interviewing process; candidates meet with career coach Ryan Kahn from Dream Careers and at the end of each episode one candidate lands the job of their dreams.[130][131] In 2012, Punk'd returned with a revolving door of new hosts per episode. Meanwhile, spin-offs from Jersey Shore such as The Pauly D Project and Snooki & JWoww were produced. MTV announced plans to re-enter the late-night comedy space in 2012, with Nikki & Sara Live, an unscripted series by comedians Nikki Glaser and Sara Schaefer. The program initially aired weekly from MTV's studios in Times Square.[132]

Animated programs (1991-present)

In a continuing bid to become a more diverse network focusing on youth and culture as well as music, MTV added animated shows to its lineup in the early 1990s. The animation showcase Liquid Television (a co-production between BBC and MTV produced in San Francisco by Colossal Pictures) was one of the channel's first programs to focus on the medium. In addition to airing original shows created specifically for MTV, the channel also occasionally aired episodes of original cartoon series produced by sister channel Nickelodeon (Nicktoons) in the early 1990s.

In September 2009, the channel aired Popzilla, which showcased and imitated celebrities in an animated form. MTV again reintroduced animated programming to its lineup with the return of Beavis and Butt-Head in 2011 after 14 years off the air, alongside brand new animated program Good Vibes. In January 2016, MTV returned to animation with Greatest Party Story Ever.

The channel expanded its programming focus in late 2000s and early 2010s to include more scripted programs.[133] The resurgence of scripted programming on MTV saw the introduction of comedy shows such as Awkward. and The Hard Times of RJ Berger, and dramas such as Skins and Teen Wolf. In June 2012, MTV confirmed that it would develop a series based on the Scream franchise.[134] The series is now in its third season.[135][136] On June 24, 2019, it was announced that Scream would be moving to VH1 ahead of the premiere of the third season.[137]

Logo and branding

MTV's now-iconic logo was designed in 1981 by Manhattan Design (a collective formed by Frank Olinsky,[138] Pat Gorman and Patty Rogoff) under the guidance of original creative director Fred Seibert. The block letter "M" was sketched by Rogoff, with the scribbled word "TV" spraypainted by Olinksky.[139] The primary variant of MTV's logo at the time had the "M" in yellow and the "TV" in red. But unlike most television networks' logos at the time, the logo was constantly branded with different colors, patterns and images on a variety of station IDs. The only constant aspects of MTV's logo at the time were its general shape and proportions, with everything else being dynamic.[140]

MTV launched on August 1, 1981, with an extended network ID featuring the first landing on the moon (with still images acquired directly from NASA), which was a concept of Seibert's executed by Buzz Potamkin and Perpetual Motion Pictures.[141] The ID then cut to the American flag planted on the moon's surface changed to show the MTV logo on it, which rapidly changed into different colors and patterns several times per second as the network's original guitar-driven jingle was played for the first time. After MTV's launch, the "moon landing" ID was edited to show only its ending, and was shown at the top of every hour until early 1986, when the ID was scrapped in light of the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster. The ID ran "more than 75,000 times each year (48 times each day), at the top and bottom of every hour every day" according to Seibert.[141]

Comparison of MTV's original 1980s branding and its 2010 branding

From the late 1990s to the early 2000s, MTV updated its on-air appearance at the beginning of every year and each summer, creating a consistent brand across all of its music-related shows. This style of channel-wide branding came to an end as MTV drastically reduced its number of music-related shows in the early to mid 2000s. Around this time, MTV introduced a static and single color digital on-screen graphic to be shown during all of its programming.

Starting with the premiere of the short-lived program FNMTV in 2008, MTV started using a revised and chopped down version of its original logo during most of its on-air programming. It became MTV's official logo on February 8, 2010 and officially debuted on its website.[142] The channel's full name "Music Television" was officially dropped,[143][1] with the revised logo largely the same as the original logo, but without the initialism, the bottom of the "M" being cropped and the "V" in "TV" being branched off.[143] This change was most likely made to reflect MTV's more prominent focus on reality and comedy programming and less on music-related programming. However, much like the original logo, the new logo was designed to be filled in with a seemingly unlimited variety of images. It is used worldwide, but not everywhere existentially. The new logo was first used on MTV Films logo with the 2010 film Jackass 3D. MTV's rebranding was overseen by Popkern.[144]

On June 25, 2015,[145] MTV International rebranded its on-air look with a new vaporwave and seapunk-inspired graphics package. It included a series of new station IDs featuring 3D renderings of objects and people, much akin to vaporwave and seapunk "aesthetics".[146][147] Many have derided MTV's choice of rebranding, insisting that the artistic style was centered on denouncing corporate capitalism (many aesthetic pieces heavily incorporate corporate logos of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, which coincidentally include MTV's original logo) rather than being embraced by major corporations like MTV. Many have also suggested that MTV made an attempt to be relevant in the modern entertainment world with the rebrand. In addition to this, the rebrand was made on exactly the same day that the social media site Tumblr introduced Tumblr TV, an animated GIF viewer which featured branding inspired by MTV's original 1980s on-air look.[148] Tumblr has been cited as a prominent location of aesthetic art,[149] and thus many have suggested MTV and Tumblr "switched identities". The rebrand also incorporated a modified version of MTV's classic "I Want My MTV!" slogan, changed to read "I Am My MTV". Vice has suggested that the slogan change represents "the current generation's movement towards self-examination, identity politics and apparent narcissism."[150] MTV also introduced MTV Bump, a website that allows Instagram and Vine users to submit videos to be aired during commercial breaks, as well as MTV Canvas, an online program where users submit custom IDs to also be aired during commercial breaks.[151]

"I Want My MTV!"

The channel's iconic "I want my MTV!" advertising campaign was launched in 1982. It was first developed by George Lois and was based on a cereal commercial from the 1950s with the slogan "I want my Maypo!" that Lois adapted unsuccessfully from the original created by animator John Hubley.[152]

Lois's first pitch to the network was roundly rejected when Lois insisted that rock stars like Mick Jagger should be crying when they said the tag line, not unlike his failed 'Maypo' revamp. His associate, and Seibert mentor Dale Pon[153] took over the campaign, strategically and creatively, and was able to get the campaign greenlit when he laughed the tears out of the spots. From then on -with the exception of the closely logos on the first round of commercials- Pon was the primary creative force.[154]

Influence and controversies

The channel has been a target of criticism by various groups about programming choices, social issues, political correctness, sensitivity, censorship, and a perceived negative social influence on young people.[155] Portions of the content of MTV's programs and productions have come under controversy in the general news media and among social groups that have taken offense. Some within the music industry criticized what they saw as MTV's homogenization of rock 'n' roll, including the punk band the Dead Kennedys, whose song "M.T.V. – Get Off the Air" was released on their 1985 album Frankenchrist, just as MTV's influence over the music industry was being solidified.[156] MTV was also the major influence on the growth of music videos during the 1980s.[157]

Subsequent concepts

HBO also had a 30-minute program of music videos called Video Jukebox, that first aired around the time of MTV's launch and lasted until late 1986. Also around this time, HBO, as well as other premium channels such as Cinemax, Showtime and The Movie Channel, occasionally played one or a few music videos between movies.[]

SuperStation WTBS launched Night Tracks on June 3, 1983, with up to 14 hours of music video airplay each late night weekend by 1985. Its most noticeable difference was that black artists that MTV initially ignored received airplay. The program ran until the end of May 1992.

A few markets also launched music-only channels including Las Vegas' KVMY (channel 21), which debuted in the summer of 1984 as KRLR-TV and branded as "Vusic 21". The first video played on that channel was "Video Killed the Radio Star", following in the footsteps of MTV.[]

Shortly after TBS began Night Tracks, NBC launched a music video program called Friday Night Videos, which was considered network television's answer to MTV. Later renamed simply Friday Night, the program ran from 1983 to 2002. ABC's contribution to the music video program genre in 1984, ABC Rocks, was far less successful, lasting only a year.[158]

TBS founder Ted Turner started the Cable Music Channel in 1984, designed to play a broader mix of music videos than MTV's rock format allowed. But after one month as a money-losing venture, Turner sold it to MTV, who redeveloped the channel into VH1.[159]

Shortly after its launch, The Disney Channel aired a program called D-TV, a play on the MTV acronym. The program used music cuts, both from current and past artists. Instead of music videos, the program used clips of various vintage Disney cartoons and animated films to go with the songs. The program aired in multiple formats, sometimes between shows, sometimes as its own program, and other times as one-off specials. The specials tended to air both on The Disney Channel and NBC. The program aired at various times between 1984 and 1999. In 2009, Disney Channel revived the D-TV concept with a new series of short-form segments called Re-Micks.

Censorship

MTV has edited a number of music videos to remove references to drugs,[160] sex, violence, weapons, racism, homophobia, and/or advertising.[161] Many music videos aired on the channel were either censored, moved to late-night rotation, or banned entirely from the channel.

On September 28, 2016, on an AfterBuzz TV live stream, Scout Durwood said that MTV had a "no appropriation policy" that forbid her from wearing her hair in cornrows in an episode of Mary + Jane. She said, "I wanted to cornrow my hair, and they were like, 'That's racist.'"[165]

Beavis and Butt-head

In the wake of controversy that involved a child burning down his house after allegedly watching Beavis and Butt-head, MTV moved the show from its original 7p.m. time slot to an 11p.m. time slot. Also, Beavis' tendency to flick a lighter and yell "fire" was removed from new episodes, and controversial scenes were removed from existing episodes before their rebroadcast.[167] Some extensive edits were noted by series creator Mike Judge after compiling his Collection DVDs, saying that "some of those episodes may not even exist actually in their original form."[168]

Dude, This Sucks

A pilot for a show called Dude, This Sucks was canceled after teens attending a taping at the Snow Summit Ski Resort in January 2001 were sprayed with liquidized fecal matter by a group known as "The Shower Rangers". The teens later sued,[169] with MTV later apologizing and ordering the segment's removal.[170][171]

Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show

After Viacom's purchase of CBS, MTV was selected to produce the Super Bowl XXXVhalftime show in 2001, airing on CBS and featuring Britney Spears, NSYNC, and Aerosmith.[172] Due to its success, MTV was invited back to produce another halftime show in 2004; this sparked a nationwide debate and controversy that drastically changed Super Bowl halftime shows, MTV's programming, and radio censorship.

Michael Powell, former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, ordered an investigation the day after broadcast.[173] In the weeks following the halftime show, MTV censored much of its programming. Several music videos, including "This Love" and "I Miss You", were edited for sexual content.[164] In September 2004, the FCC ruled that the halftime show was indecent and fined CBS $550,000.[174] The FCC upheld it in 2006,[175] but federal judges reversed the fine in 2008.[176]

Nipplegate

Timberlake and Jackson's controversial event gave way to a "wave of self-censorship on American television unrivaled since the McCarthy era".[177] After the sudden event, names surfaced such as nipplegate, Janet moment, and boobgate, and this spread politically, furthering the discussion into the 2004 presidential election surrounding "moral values" and "media decency".[177]

In 2005, the Parents Television Council (PTC) released a study titled "MTV Smut Peddlers", which sought to expose excessive sexual, profane, and violent content on the channel, based on MTV's spring break programming from 2004.[180] Jeanette Kedas, an MTV network executive, called the PTC report "unfair and inaccurate" and "underestimating young people's intellect and level of sophistication", while L. Brent Bozell III, then-president of the PTC, stated: "the incessant sleaze on MTV presents the most compelling case yet for consumer cable choice", referring to the practice of pay television companies to allow consumers to pay for channels à la carte.[181]

In April 2008, PTC released The Rap on Rap, a study covering hip-hop and R&B music videos rotated on programs 106 & Park and Rap City, both shown on BET, and Sucker Free on MTV. PTC urged advertisers to withdraw sponsorship of those programs, whose videos PTC stated targeted children and teenagers containing adult content.[182][183]

Jersey Shore

MTV received significant criticism from Italian American organizations for Jersey Shore, which premiered in 2009.[184] The controversy was due in large part to the manner in which MTV marketed the show, as it liberally used the word "guido" to describe the cast members. The word "guido" is generally regarded as an ethnic slur when referring to Italians and Italian Americans. One promotion stated that the show was to follow, "eight of the hottest, tannest, craziest Guidos,"[185] while yet another advertisement stated, "Jersey Shore exposes one of the tri-state area's most misunderstood species ... the GUIDO. Yes, they really do exist! Our Guidos and Guidettes will move into the ultimate beach house rental and indulge in everything the Seaside Heights, New Jersey scene has to offer."[186]

Prior to the series debut, Unico National formally requested that MTV cancel the show.[187] In a formal letter, the company called the show a "direct, deliberate and disgraceful attack on Italian Americans."[188] Unico National President Andre DiMino said in a statement, "MTV has festooned the 'bordello-like' house set with Italian flags and red, white and green maps of New Jersey while every other cutaway shot is of Italian signs and symbols. They are blatantly as well as subliminally bashing Italian Americans with every technique possible."[189] Around this time, other Italian organizations joined the fight, including the NIAF and the Order Sons of Italy in America.[190][191][192]

MTV responded by issuing a press release which stated in part, "The Italian American cast takes pride in their ethnicity. We understand that this show is not intended for every audience and depicts just one aspect of youth culture."[184] Following the calls for the show's removal, several sponsors requested that their ads not be aired during the show. These sponsors included Dell, Domino's Pizza, and American Family Insurance.[193] Despite the loss of certain advertisers, MTV did not cancel the show. Moreover, the show saw its audience increase from its premiere in 2009, and continued to place as MTV's top-rated programs during Jersey Shore's six-season run, ending in 2012.

Resolutions for White Guys

In December 2016, MTV online published a social justice-oriented New Year's resolution-themed video directed towards white men. The video caused widespread outrage online, including video responses from well-known online personas, and was deleted from MTV's YouTube channel.[194][195] The video was then reuploaded to their channel, with MTV claiming the new video contained "updated graphical elements". The new video quickly received over 10,000 dislikes and fewer than 100 likes from only 20,000 views, and MTV deleted the video for a second time.[196][197]

Social activism

In addition to its regular programming, MTV has a long history of promoting social, political, and environmental activism in young people.[] The channel's vehicles for this activism have been Choose or Lose, encompassing political causes and encouraging viewers to vote in elections; Fight For Your Rights, encompassing anti-violence and anti-discrimination causes; think MTV; and MTV Act and Power of 12, the newest umbrellas for MTV's social activism.

Choose or Lose

MTV Choose or Lose logo

In 1992, MTV started a pro-democracy campaign called Choose or Lose, to encourage over 20 million people to register to vote, and the channel hosted a town hall forum for then-candidate Bill Clinton.[198]

In recent years, other politically diverse programs on MTV have included True Life, which documents people's lives and problems, and MTV News specials, which center on very current events in both the music industry and the world. One special show covered the 2004 US Presidential election, airing programs focused on the issues and opinions of young people, including a program where viewers could ask questions of Senator John Kerry.[199] MTV worked with P. Diddy's "Citizen Change" campaign, designed to encourage young people to vote.[200]

Additionally, MTV aired a documentary covering a trip by the musical group Sum 41 to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, documenting the conflict there. The group ended up being caught in the midst of an attack outside of the hotel and were subsequently flown out of the country.[201]

Rock the Vote

MTV is aligned with Rock the Vote, a campaign to motivate young adults to register and vote.[204]

MTV Act and Power of 12

In 2012, MTV launched MTV Act and Power of 12, its current social activism campaigns. MTV Act focuses on a wide array of social issues,[205] while Power of 12 was a replacement for MTV's Choose or Lose and focused on the 2012 US presidential election.[206]

Elect This

In 2016, MTV continued its pro-democracy campaign with Elect This, an issue-oriented look at the 2016 election targeting Millennials. Original content under the "Elect This" umbrella includes "Infographica," short animations summarizing MTV News polls; "Robo-Roundtable," a digital series hosted by animatronic robots; "The Racket," a multi-weekly digital series; and "The Stakes," a weekly political podcast.[207]

Beyond MTV

Since its launch in 1981, the brand "MTV" has expanded to include many additional properties beyond the original MTV channel, including a variety of sister channels in the US, dozens of affiliated channels around the world, and an Internet presence through MTV.com and related websites.

Sister channels in the US

MTV operates a group of channels under MTV Networks – a name that continues to be used for the individual units of the now Viacom Media Networks, a division of corporate parent Viacom. In 1985, MTV saw the introduction of its first true sister channel, VH1, which was originally an acronym for "Video Hits One" and was designed to play adult contemporary music videos. Today, VH1 is aimed at celebrity and popular culture programming which include many reality shows. Another sister channel, CMT, targets the country music and southern culture market.

The advent of satellite television and digital cable brought MTV greater channel diversity, including its current sister channels MTV2 and MTV Tr3?s (now Tr3?s), which initially played music videos exclusively but now focus on other programming. MTV also formerly broadcast MTVU on campuses at various universities until 2018, when the MTV Networks on Campus division was sold, and the channel remained as a digital cable channel only. MTV used to also have MTV Hits and MTVX channels until these were converted into NickMusic and MTV Jams, respectively. MTV Jams later was rebranded as BET Jams.

In the 2000s, MTV launched MTV HD, a 1080ihigh definition simulcast feed of MTV. Until Viacom's main master control was upgraded in 2013, only the network's original series after 2010 (with some pre-2010 content) are broadcast in high definition, while music videos, despite being among the first television works to convert to high definition presentation in the early 2000s, were presented in 4:3 standard definition, forcing them into a windowboxing type of presentation; since that time all music videos are presented in HD, and are framed to their director's preference. Jersey Shore, despite being shot with widescreen HD cameras, was also presented with SD windowboxing (though the 2018 Family Vacation revival is in full HD). The vast majority of providers carry MTV HD.

MTV Networks also operates MTV Live, a high-definition channel that features original HD music programming and HD versions of music related programs from MTV, VH1 and CMT. The channel was launched in January 2006 as MHD (Music: High Definition). The channel was officially rebranded as MTV Live on February 1, 2016.[208]

In 2005 and 2006, MTV launched a series of channels for Asian Americans. The first channel was MTV Desi, launched in July 2005, dedicated toward South-Asian Americans. Next was MTV Chi, in December 2005, which catered to Chinese Americans. The third was MTV K, launched in June 2006 and targeted toward Korean Americans. Each of these channels featured music videos and shows from MTV's international affiliates as well as original US programming, promos, and packaging. All three of these channels ceased broadcasting on April 30, 2007.

On August 1, 2016, the 35th anniversary of the original MTV's launch, VH1 Classic was rebranded as MTV Classic. The channel's programming focused on classic music videos and programming (including notable episodes of MTV Unplugged and VH1 Storytellers), but skews more towards the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. The network aired encores of 2000s MTV series such as Beavis and Butt-Head and Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. The network's relaunch included a broadcast of MTV's first hour on the air, which was also simulcast on MTV and online via Facebook live streaming.[209][210] MTV Classic only retained three original VH1 Classic programs, which were That Metal Show, Metal Evolution, and Behind the Music Remastered, although repeats of current and former VH1 programs such as Pop-Up Video and VH1 Storytellers remained on the schedule. However, the rebranded MTV Classic had few viewers, and declined quickly to become the least-watched English-language subscription network rated by Nielsen at the end of 2016. At the start of 2017, it was reprogrammed into an all-video network.[211][212]

Internet

MTV.com in 2008

In the late 1980s, before the World Wide Web, MTV VJ Adam Curry began experimenting on the Internet. He registered the then-unclaimed domain name "MTV.com" in 1993 with the idea of being MTV's unofficial new voice on the Internet. Although this move was sanctioned by his supervisors at MTV Networks at the time, when Curry left to start his own web-portal design and hosting company, MTV subsequently sued him for the domain name, which led to an out-of-court settlement.[213]

The service hosted at the domain name was originally branded "MTV Online" during MTV's first few years of control over it in the mid-1990s. It served as a counterpart to the America Online portal for MTV content, which existed at AOL keyword MTV until approximately the end of the 1990s. After this time, the website became known as simply "MTV.com" and served as the Internet hub for all MTV and MTV News content.

MTV.com experimented with entirely video-based layouts between 2005 and 2007. The experiment began in April 2005 as MTV Overdrive, a streaming video service that supplemented the regular MTV.com website.[214] Shortly after the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, which were streamed on MTV.com and heavily utilized the MTV Overdrive features, MTV introduced a massive change for MTV.com, transforming the entire site into a Flash video-based entity.[215] Much of users' feedback about the Flash-based site was negative, demonstrating a dissatisfaction with videos that played automatically, commercials that could not be skipped or stopped, and the slower speed of the entire website. The experiment ended in February 2006 as MTV.com reverted to a traditional HTML-based website design with embedded video clips, in the style of YouTube and some other video-based websites.[216]

From 2006 to 2007, MTV operated an online channel, MTV International, targeted to the broad international market. The purpose of the online channel was to air commercial-free music videos once the television channels started concentrating on shows unrelated to music videos or music-related programming.

The channel responded to the rise of the Internet as the new central place to watch music videos in October 2008 by launching MTV Music (later called MTV Hive), a website that featured thousands of music videos from MTV and VH1's video libraries, dating back to the earliest videos from 1981.

A newly created division of the company, MTV New Media, announced in 2008 that it would produce its own original web series, in an attempt to create a bridge between old and new media.[217] The programming is available to viewers via personal computers, cell phones, iPods, and other digital devices.[218]

In the summer of 2012, MTV launched a music discovery web site called the MTV Artists Platform (also known as Artists.MTV). MTV stated, "While technology has made it way easier for artists to produce and distribute their own music on their own terms, it hasn't made it any simpler to find a way to cut through all the Internet noise and speak directly to all of their potential fans. The summer launch of the platform is an attempt to help music junkies and musicians close the gap by providing a one-stop place where fans can listen to and buy music and purchase concert tickets and merchandise."[219]

Today, MTV.com remains the official website of MTV, and it expands on the channel's broadcasts by bringing additional content to its viewers. The site's features include an online version of MTV News, podcasts, a commercial streaming service, movie features, profiles and interviews with recording artists and from MTV's television programs.

MTV Networks has launched numerous native-language regional variants of MTV-branded channels to countries around the world.

^The quote from Walter Yetnikoff reads, "I'm pulling everything we have off the air... I'm not going to give you any more videos. And I'm going to go public and fucking tell them about the fact you don't want to play music by a black guy."